World Religions

Here is Divina helping Mark wash his car. She takes her work very seriously.

Today I taught the first in a series of religious education classes at my church. I'm teaching the unit on World Religions to 3rd and 4th graders. Another church member is teaching it with me. We had 12 students today. Our lesson today included stories of the founders of three religions: Mohammed/Islam, the Buddha (Siddartha Guatama)/Buddhism, and Lao-Tzu/Taoism.

Mohammed was this merchant who married a rich widow, Kadijah. They lived in the land that is today called Saudi Arabia. He used to escape the stress and noise of his city life and go to a quiet cave to mediate. One time in the cave the angel Gabriel came to him and said "you are the messenger of God." This scared Mohammed but his wife encouraged hime to pursue the message. He returned to the cave many times and receieved the message that is now the Koran.

Then we had banana pudding (a dessert traditionally offered at Ramadan) and hummus with pita.

Siddartha Gutama was a very rich Indian prince. Before he was born his mother, Queen Mayahama, dreampt that a white elephant came to her carrying a lotus blossom. A psychic told her that her son would either become a very powerful king or a spiritual leader. Siddartha's father did not want him to be a spiritual leader, so he sheltered his son from all the troubles of the world. When Siddartha was a man (married with one son) he ventured out into the city for the first time. He was shocked to see people starving, ill, and he also saw a dead man in the street. This changed him forever. He didn't understand how he could live in luxury while there was so much suffering in the world. So Siddartha left his family and palace and became a wondering monk. He wore only a simple yellow robe, the same robe as worn by buddhist monks today. After many years of wandering, begging, and starving, he still didn't have the answer to suffering. He placed himself beneath a tree and sat there for a very long time, determined not to get up until the answer came to him. The answer did come. It is now known as the dharma teachings (the teachings of the buddha.)

Lao-tzu was forty years old living in China. He was so dissatisfied with the way people behaved (corruption, dishonesty, war) that he decided to leave his land forever. Legend says that he rode an ox for this journey. He was about to cross the border of his land to another when some people who thought him to be a very wise man (based on his life) wouldn't let him leave until he wrote down all his knowledge. He obliged them and wrote the book Tao Te Ching.

Just what the messages are of the Koran, dharma, and Tao Te Ching will be taught in the next three classes.

I'm a teacher.